Facebook lost 2.8 million U.S. users under 25 in 2017

Friday, 16 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Earlier in the week we posted up a story about how Facebook was seeing growth in their 55+ demographics, which unsurprisingly has started to drive the under 25 users away and saw 2.8 million of those users leave the platform in 2017 and it doesn't look like 2018 will be any better. Basically what this comes down to is that as more older people start using a platform (like your grandparents for example) the younger users find somewhere else to go so that Grandma isn't commenting on the same pictures as their friends.

Now the significance of this for Facebook is that advertisers want under 25 users as they've got lots of disposable income and are much more likely to buy their products online. This is actually a big deal for Facebook as if this trend continues they risk becoming the social media site for older people instead of the "hip" social network that they have marketed themselves as being.

Facebook is losing young users even quicker than expected, according to new estimates by eMarketer.

The digital measurement firm predicted last year that Facebook would see a 3.4 percent drop in 12- to 17-year-old users in the U.S. in 2017, the first time it had predicted a drop in usage for any age group on Facebook.

The reality: The number of U.S. Facebook users in the 12- to 17-year-old demographic declined by 9.9 percent in 2017, eMarketer found, or about 1.4 million total users. That’s almost three times the decline expected. There were roughly 12.1 million U.S. Facebook users in the 12- to 17-year-old demographic by the end of the year.

Linner NC50 Active Noise Canceling Bluetooth Earphones

Thursday, 15 February 2018 04:14
Last Updated on Thursday, 15 February 2018 04:57
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

As for audio quality, the NC50 exceeded my expectations. The bass is nice and heavy when it needs to be without being muddy and thick. The mid-range is very balanced for a $70 set of earphones - let alone noise-cancelling earphones. The treble isn’t sharp and balances very nicely as well. Even for $139, they sound great. For half that, they are solid gold.

Facebook seeing growth in 55+ demographics

Thursday, 15 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Good news for Facebook that they're seeing growth in some demographics, unfortunately for Facebook is that it's in the 55+ demographic which isn't what online advertisers get excited about. Thanks to the surge, the 55+ demographic is now the 2nd biggest on Facebook which is making the younger demographics jump to other platforms like Snapchat. The Gaurdian has more on this story.

It’s official: Facebook is for old(er) people. Teens and young adults are ditching Mark Zuckerberg’s social network as popularity among the over-55s surges, according to a report.

In 2018, 2.2 million 12- to 17-year-olds and 4.5 million 18- to 24-year-olds will regularly use Facebook in the UK, 700,000 fewer than in 2017, as younger users defect to services such as Snapchat, according to eMarketer.

A surge in older users means over-55s will become the second-biggest demographic of Facebook users this year.

Cryptocurrency LoopX disappears

Thursday, 15 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Ahh yes, yet another cryptocurrency story.

Not surprisingly, this is another one of the bad side of the news with a new startup called LoopX disappearing after raising $4.5 million in it's initial coin offering. This isn't the first time that cryptocurrency buyers have been scammed and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's not the last.

Another day, another exit scam: an emerging cryptocurrency startup more commonly known as LoopX has suddenly vanished out of thin air along with millions worth of its investors’ savings.

The sketchy investment platform, which promised to earn backers’ money with its proprietary trading algorithm, has abruptly gone dark after raising $4.5 million in a series of initial coin offerings (ICO). The company has since also pulled its website and deleted its social media fingerprint, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram accounts.

Weekly Tech Update #424 - Amazon to Launch Delivery Service

Wednesday, 14 February 2018 06:36
Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 February 2018 06:38
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

We have just posted up Episode #424 of Weekly Tech Update! In this episode we will be discussing the headphone jack is alive and well, Amazon to launch their own delivery service and Facebook is shifting demographics. We have those stories and more at the links below...

Long live the headphone jack!

Wednesday, 14 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

As more and more big names in the smartphone market ditch the headphone jack, it appears that Samsung isn't getting on that train yet as it is being rumored that the Galaxy S9 will be featuring a 3.5mm headphone jack. Is this enough to get you to switch to Samsung? Maybe not, but it sure beats having to buy new headphones or using an adaptor. CNET has the details.

Notice anything interesting about this alleged render of the Samsung Galaxy S9?

No, I'm not talking about that weird block underneath the phone, or the return of the Bixby button. (Drat?) I'm talking about the perfectly round hole in the bottom-left corner.

Nokia sold 4.4 million smartphones in Q4

Wednesday, 14 February 2018 00:00
Written by Jason

Nokia relaunched their smartphone brand and their partner HMC Global is now producing their devices for them and apparently it's working out better than most expected. In Q4, Nokia sold 4.4 million smartphones and claimed the #11 spot on the smartphones sales charts. Them being in the #11 spot puts them ahead of other big names like Asus, Lenovo, Google, Sony, HTC, and OnePlus. The sales seem to be selling well overseas and isn't gaining much in North America, but thanks to some strong sales early on we could see them making a push into North America shortly. TechRadar has the story.

The 4.4 million figure puts Nokia at the 11th position in the list of companies with highest market share. This also means that Nokia sold more phones in the last quarter than a lot of other popular brands. Some of the companies that sold lesser smartphones that Nokia are — Google, HTC, Sony, Alcatel, Lenovo, OnePlus, Gionee, Meizu, Coolpad and Asus.

Snapchat's redesign isn't so popular

Tuesday, 13 February 2018 22:38
Written by Jason

Snapchat just completed their biggest redesign since it launched in 2011. It unfortunately isn't all roses and sunshine as a "fake" tweet that said if it was retweeted 1.3 million times they'd revert back to the old design. Long story short, that fake tweet has become the 6th most retweeted tweet ever.

It will be interesting to see if Snapchat caves or if the people that are upset actually leave. History shows that most likely people will accept the change and we won't hear about this in another week or so, but maybe Snapchat users are different?

Amazon to launch delivery service

Tuesday, 13 February 2018 22:32
Written by Jason

I think we all saw this coming, but Amazon is said to be launching their own delivery service to compete with UPS and FedEx. Not surprisingly, Amazon ships a ton of packages and has enough items going out on a daily basis to setup their own service in larger volume areas. Not that it's that bold of a prediction, but I think we'll see more Amazon trucks on the road in the next year.

Amazon is gearing up to compete directly with UPS and FedEx, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. The so-called “Shipping with Amazon” program will be an end-to-end shipping solution, with pickups from businesses and shipments made to consumers, per the report.

The timeframe for rollout is soon, too: Amazon is said to be readying the service for its first launch in LA in the “coming weeks,” starting, not surprisingly, with companies that sell stuff via its website. After its initial launch in LA, Amazon will look to expand it out to other cities, possibly as soon as later this year, the WSJ says.

Google Working on Texting from Browser

Monday, 12 February 2018 20:09
Written by Benjamin "Zeus" Heide

Google is stepping up their game with Android Messages and will soon allow you to pair your phone with your PC and then use your PC to send actual SMS's. This integration is what HP rocked with the Elite X3 Windows Phone and is something that other companies lack. Yes, there are 3rd party applications that do something similiar, but I've tried many of them and nothing worked as good as the Windows solution. Still, this is a step in the right direction. Also coming in Android Messages is the ability to send payments directly using Google Pay - or something similiar.

All told, Google appears to be transforming Android Messages into an Allo-like app, except for mobile SMS texts instead of web-based ones. It could also be monetizing it to a degree via Google Pay. Considering the power it yields over the Android smartphone ecosystem, that could amount to a lot of dollars. Take all the changes with some salt, though, because APKs don't necessarily mean features are set in stone, and some of the aforementioned features are still half-baked.